WE TRIED NOT TO DOCK THE MARAWATI IN SUCH CLEAR VIEW OF THE PORT ; we had not wanted to draw attention. But watching the ship’s steady buoying from the shimmering sand of the beach, the gentle waves crashing along the walnut hull & the sunlight nestled behind the golden sails — bleeding through the needlework of tapestry in acicular beams of pure gold — the marawati’s splendor was incontrovertible. It was not by any means a large ship, nor a ship of riches ; rather, a great love for the ship had kept it afloat three generations now.
So naturally the marawati drew the attentions of many a sailor & wanderers alike, & to the female nakhudha that approached with a short number of her crew.
The plan was to be quick. They would speak to who they must & leave before whisper got into the city — however, it wouldn’t be a flawless attempt. The first lesson any newly aspiring sailor should learn : if something can go wrong, it will, especially once out at sea.
— now, she insists I tell you with what great attempt — yes, truly, with what will she had after a myriad of exhausting days at sea — she had tried to turn down the request of the young woman negotiating with her at the shore ( — " money, I tell you it talks, as veritable a tempter as a bottle of palm wine off the coast of the Maldives " — ) only to surrender with a sigh & little argument. She saw Majed approaching on the ship’s dunij and he’d be on the beach in a few minutes, most. This would have to be quick. ❛ I don’t deal with formal papers or contracts. You’ll have to go off my word. You can buy passage on my boat or you could work — but, sister, you do not look like an experienced sailor. ❜
@thriev liked for a starter . . . ♥ !!
